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Monday, December 10, 2012

MNBR: The Bruery Rugbrød

Hello again, my fellow lovers of the craft-brew scene! Hope you all enjoyed a fine weekend of activities and that uh... holiday, cheer thing that's going around these days.

I, myself, had a weekend full of pleasantries and Christmas lights.

Also beer.

Anyways, let's pop the cap off of the proverbial bottle and drink down some lovely rye beer. Sound good to you? I hope so, because it sounds quite wonderful to me.

The Bruery Rugbrød

Ah yes, The Bruery... this probably the first west coast brewer that I get really familiar with when I used to visit my family a couple of years back. I made one hell of a decision when I went down that road, too.

From what I can tell, The Bruery (the founder's last name is Rue, just an aside FYI) is all about that Belgian craft. I believe every one of their beers are both bottled-conditioned (meaning they throw an extra batch of yeast in the beer before sealing off the bottle, allow for another fermentation to take place in the bottle) and unfiltered. Needless to say, this can be very intimidating for the novices. Or people who can't tell the difference between complexities of life such as 'front' and 'back'.

TURN THE BOTTLE AROUND, YOU IDIOT!

They are also into the Belgian yeast big time... as well as all sorts of other things - pie, sweet potatoes... fucking Thai food. It all can play a role in their beer. It works most of the time, thanks in part to an insanely complex flavor approach. It just seems like Belgian yeast always pops in, and Belgian yeast is some funky shit! Sly and the Family Stone would approve.

But enough about that, let's talk about the main eventer, here: Rugbrød (AKA Danish rye bread, and no, I can't pronounce it either). It clocks in at heft 8% ABV and is undoubtedly going to be heavy in the rye bread department. In the words of the DX song, break it down!...

Holy shit, I apologize for that reference.

APPEARANCE

A darker
shade of auburn with a light, tan head that reaches very thick heights. Like,
two-fingers… and it his staying strength. Very sleek and attractive, and
super-hazy on account of it being unfiltered and the bottle-conditioning this
beer went through. Not what I’d call
your standard rye beer, but it’s passable nonetheless.Classic labeling style on the bottle (they actually have fancier-cut labels, but back and front, etc.). They have a fairly classic approach to their bottles, using those fancy-shmancy 750 mL bottles that make your relatives look at you and go, "That is some weird looking wine!" I love that. I really do.OVERALL: B-

SMELL

As
is typical with The Bruery, this thing smells of Belgian yeast in all of its
funky glory. Truth be told, I really do love that funky Belgian scent. It's very unique, though understandably not for all. This is also true for musical funk, which I don't understand, because seriously, how could you not like George Clinton?

You know what? Fuck it. That's a big 0-for-2 on the images tonight. Well done, me.

Sharp notes of
rye with a caramel sweetness and bread note on the nose, once you get past
that. It’s actually pretty straightforward, all things considered. Apparently,
Danish rye bread smells awesome. This is one of those times where a simplicity actually works in the beer's favor, and considering its brewer, this comes as a complete and welcome shock.OVERALL: B+

TASTE/MOUTHFEEL

Very soft, light body sort of floats on to the tongue.
Just an absolute tsunami of rye flavor… how they managed to pack this much into
it baffles me. Sweet after taste has that caramel character from the scent,
very pleasant and very appreciated. I’m still not sold on the use of the
Belgian yeast, though, as it leaves that certain funkiness behind and it
doesn’t necessarily mesh with everything else as well. Still, a good tasting
beer, and a nice feel to boot.

The alcohol is well hidden and the finish is nice and clean. Stuff like this can be really easy to drink. Coincidentally, drinking a lot of this stuff will result in you getting Super Stupid.

And finally, we have an acceptable funk joke.

OVERALL: C+ TASTE, A- MOUTHFEEL

FINALE

I had fairly mixed feelings about this beer. It's a bizarre mix of simplicity and complexity that never quite clicks as well as I'd like it to. I think if the Belgian yeast had some time to mellow, or maybe just wasn't there to begin with, it'd be most triumphant (Bill & Ted again, it's continuity!). As-is, this is simply just a 'good' beer that needs to be smoothed out around the edges. I honestly don't even know what to suggest pairing with this, so I'll just go with one random selection from The Bruery's page... salami? Yeah, that might work. I'm a fan of salami.OVERALL GRADE: B-

CONCLUSION

There you have it, fellow beer fiends. While this wasn't the greatest beer in the world, I really can't recommend giving one of this company's several other beers a taste enough. They have a really impressive lineup that consists of the fantastic Mischief and the masterpiece Saison Rue. Oh, and they're local, which is a total bonus! Don't forget support your local breweries. It's an important aspect being a craft beer consumer!Drink up you guys... and try pronounce this beer's name, because I friggin' give up.